Machine for vacuum sealing



April 18, 1933 J, J. WILLIAMS 1,904,842

MACHINE FOR VACUUM SEALING Filed'May 28, 1927 '7 SheetsSheet l 86 millas April 18, 1933. J, J. WILLIAMS 1,904,842

MACHINE FOR VACUUM SEALING Filed May 28, 1927 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 W efakn IA ril 18, 1933. J. J. WtLLlAMS 1,904,842

MACHINE FOR VACUUM SEALING Filed May 28, 1927 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Wm Jhn JWill mmwzz,

Ap 1933. .1, J. WILLIAMS 1,904,842

MACHINE FOR VACUUM SEALING Filed May 28, 9.927 7 Sheets-Sheet 54 (767222J Williams mfm I W 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 l Him ln umm J. J. WILLIAMS MACHINEFOR VACUUM SEALING Filed May 28 April 18, 1933.-

IM a? l April 1933. J. J. WILLIAMS 1,904,842

' MACHINE FOR VACUUM SEALING Filed May 28, 1927 '7 Sheets-Sheet '7Patented Apr.. 18, 1933 UNITED-STA rere Ne eF cEj 302m 1. WILLIAMS, orWHEELIiie, Wrasse-VIRGINIA, Assieivon To HAZEDATLAS eLAss 1 00., OFWHEELING, WEST IRGINIA, A conronrirzonjor WEST VIRGINIA MACHINEFOBVAGUUM"SEALING Application filed May 28,1927. 7 Serial No.;195,103.

The invention relates to machines for vacuum sealing jars, tumblers orother containers and it possesses numerous novelfeatures of constructionand operation, which are highly desirable, and whichwill be ap parent tothose skilledin the art to which it relates, from the followingdetailed'descrip- 7 tion, when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings; in which Figure 1 is aperspective View of the completeapparatus. j; 4

Figure 2 is an elevational View of the lower portion ofthe machine, andshowing various operating parts in section. V 1

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the upper portion of theapparatus;the sealing plungers being in their lowermost position.

Figure is a detail view of one of the sealing plungers; the plungerbeing. shown in a slightly elevated position.

Figure 5 is another detail view of one of the sealing plungers; theplunger being shown in a slightly more elevated position than in FigureFigure 6 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on line 6-6 ofFigure 4.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view of the upper portionof themachine;- the section being taken at right angles to that shown inFigure 3. V i

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the sealing chamber, taken online 88 of Figure 3.

Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional View with parts omitted, taken online 9-9 of Figure 3, and showing parts otthe lubricating system.

*igure 10 is a detail plan view of oneo'f 1 the vertical guide-rods ofthe pressingmechanism, and further illustrating part of the lubricatingsystem. 7

Figure 11 is a detail perspective view of one of the plates forpositioningethe containers to be sealed. f

Figure 12 is a vertical sectional view the vacuum regulator valve. n

Figure 13 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 1313 of Figure 2;and illustrate ing more particularly the clutch mechanism for theoperating shaft. i i r Figure 14 is "a detail plan view further ilustrating the clutch mechanism. Y r Figures 15 and .16illustratefurther details of the clutch mechanism.

Figure 17 is a vertical sectionalview-of the sealing chamber providedwith a slight.- ly modified positioning and sealing apparatus, for usein the "simultaneous sealing of a plurality of containers.

F1gur'ef18 1s a slmllar sectional view, but

.- take'n at right angles toFigurelT; and

Figure 19 is a horizontal sectional-view taken on line 19 -19 of Figure17. n Referring tothe. drawings more in detail,

numeral 1 indicates the sealing, chamber,-

which'is mounted on the hollow column or pedestalfl. It may be mentionedat the out set thatthis hollow column or pedestal not only provides ahousingfor the. mechanism for operating the sealing plungers,but also 7constitutes a vacuumtank, whereby a source of vacuum is always instantlyavailable for vacuumizing the sealing chamber and receptacle therein, as'WIll, be descrlbed hereinafter.

The sealing head,

and this sealing head is provided withl the usual rubber sealing pad 4.l The sealing head is, of course vertically adjustable for adaptaand forthis purpose the head is carried by a rod 5' which is threaded'throughthe roof of the sealing chamber and provided at its upper end with anoperating handwheelr6 ,thelock 7 against whichthe' containersarep'ressed 'isindicated byn'umeral 3,

tion to the sealingof ware of difl'erentheight;

. For the purpose. of closing the sealing chamber, I provide the usualdoor 9,having a gasket, 10, which presses against the face of sealingchamber walls, to hermeticallyseal the sealing chamber,when.the door isin lowered position. Thedoor 9 is 'carried'by a pair of arms .11, 11,which are pivotally.

mounted on a pair of brackets 12, 12, fixed to the 'wall f the vacuumchamberwFor the purpose of maintaining the door in'a substantiallyvertical position I provide a link 13, which is pivotally connected tothe door and to one of the brackets 12; the link having a slot 14,preferably at its rear pivotal connection, to provide the door with alimited freedom of'movement. A tie rod 15 connects the arms 11, 11,intermediate their ends, and a link 16 extends downwardly from this tierod and is connected at its lower end to a slide rod 17 which is mountedfor reciprocating movement in a bearing or bracket 18. The slide rod 17is lifted by a cam, to be hereinafter described, and the door is thuslifted by reason of the link connection between the slide rod and thearms 11 which carry the door. It will be understood, of course, that thedoor falls by gravity into closed position. when the'position of the camis such as to free the lower end of the slide rod.

The rear wall of the vacuum chamber is provided with a passage 19communicating with a passage 20 of the vacuum release or air valvecasing 21. This valve casing is proided with apertures 22,which'communicate [with the atmosphere when the valve 23 is raised, butwhich are normally closed by said valve. A spring 24 forces the valve 23downwardly into seated position; and for the purpose oflifting the valveto open the ports 22 and thereby break the vacuum in the sealingchamber, 1 have attached to the valve stem a link 25, which is lifted atthe desired instant,

by the same cam that controls the opening of the door 9, Which cam willbe described hereinafter.

It is desirable, of course, to control the degree of vacuum in thevacuum tank, and for this purpose I have provided a vacuum regulatorvalve 26, which is shown in detail in Figure 12. The valve 26 isnormally main-- tained closed by a coil spring 27, the tension of whichmay be adjusted by the knurled nut '28. A pin and slot connectionbetween the valve stem and its bearing prevents the stem from turningwhen the nut 28 is adjusted. When the desired degreeof vacuum isexceeded, the valve will open momentarily against the pressure of thespring 27, and air will be admitted to the vacuum tank through the ports29. 1

The two sealing plungers are indicated by numeral 30, and the upper endsof these plungers are enlarged to form disc members 31, upon which reststhe sealing plate 32.

, The plate 32 is not attachedto the discmembers, I but merely reststhereon of its own weight, and is held against horizontal movement bypins 33 which are carried by the plate and which fit into centrallyarranged sockets provided in the disc members, as clearly shown inFigure 3. The preferred shape of the sealing plate 32 is shown in Figure8, and

it will be noted that the forward corners of the plate are'notched toreceive the ledges 34 which project inwardly from the forward portion ofthe sealing chamber side walls.

For the purpose of properly positioning the containers on the sealingplate, I have provided guides 35, which are shown in de tail in Figures8 and 11. The ware to be sealed is of various shapes and sizes, and itis thereforenecessary that these guides be ad justable; Such adjustmentmay be accomplished in various way but the specific I provides for aslight adjustment, without moving the pins into other holes; and forfurther adjustment the rear ends of the guides may be pivotally mountedat any one of the series of holes 36, and the pins for the forward endsmay be mounted in any one of the series of holes 41. j

The sealing plungers 30 pass downwardly through guide sleeves 42 whichare bolted or Gill erwise attached to the base of the sealing chamber,as shown in Figure 3. Each of the sleeves 42 is provided with aplurality of vertical passages 43 which permit, at the de sired times,communication between the sealing chamber and the vacuum tank. Eachsleeve 42 has an internal flange 44 adjacent its upper end, whichfunctions as a seat for a collar 45 provided on each of the plungers 30. It will be apparent that when the collar or valve 45 is seated, asshown in Figure 3, there can be no communication what-ever between thesealing chamber and the vacuum tank. At the beginning of the upwardstroke of the plunger 30, as shown in Figure 4, the collar or valve 45 ilifted from its seat, but it still hasa sliding contact with the innerwall of the sleeve 42. Under such conditons there is a slightcommunication between the sealing chamber and the vacuum tank, so thatthere is a slight leakage of air from the sealing chamber to the vacuumtank upon the commencement of the upward stroke of the plunger. It willbe noted, however, that the vacuum does not have its full eii ect on thesealing chamber until the collar 4 5 has moved upwardly a suilicientdistance to free it from the sleeve 42, as illustrated in Figure 5. Inthis manner the sudden application of the full effect of the vacuum isavoided. While in Figure 4 T have illustrated the collar 45 as being ofconsiderably less diameter than the interior of the sleeve, this hasbeen'eXagg-erated merely for the purpose of illustrating the operation,and l it will be understood that the collar'and sleeve have a slidingfit. I i

The plungers are normally maintained in their lowered position by meansof coil springs 46 which embrace the sleeves 42 and siliently mounted;and this operating mechanism, which may be installed in or removed fromthe vacuum tank as a complete unit, will now be described, referencebeing had particularly to Figures 2, 3 and 9. -Numeral 48 indicates anopeningprovided in one sidewall of the vacuum tank; said opening beingclosed, with an airtight seal, by a plate 49. This plate 49 is providedwith inwardly extending brackets 50, which'have bearings 51 at the innerends thereof. Slidably mounted in these bearings are guide rods 52,

I which rods arefixed, at their lower ends, to

plate 53, by means of a shoulder 54 and nut 55, as clearly shown inFigure 2. Rods 56 for operating the sealing plungers are carried by thisplate 53, in aligned position with respect to their respective sealingplungers 30. The rods 56 are slidably mounted in sleeves 57, and arenormally forced upwardly to'their full extent by means'of coilsprings 58which embrace the sleeves and operating rods and which'exert an-upwardpressure against collars 59 threaded on the upper ends of the'rods; theupward movement of the operating rods, with respect torthe plate 53',

being limited by nuts 60 threaded on the lower ends of the rods belowthe plate. Mounted in appropriate bearings beneath the plate 53 is aroller 61, which hasengagement with a cam, to be described hereinafter,and

by which cam the plate 53 and parts carried thereby are elevated,andthereby forcing the sealing plungers upward and causing the ware tobe pressed againstthe sealinghead with the desired pressure; As the.rods 56 are not fixed tothe plate 53 but are slidably mounted thereinand forced upwardly by springs 58, it is apparent that thesprings willbe compressed before any undue pressure can be applied to the articlebeingsea-lcd. I

In View ofthe fact that the above described operating parts are locatedwithin the vacu-' um tank, it is necessary that the lubrication be takencare of from the outside. The oiling system shown herein is carriedbythe removable plate 49 which also carries, as described above, the unitfor operating the sealing plungers or rods: Two oil cups62, providedwith pet cocks 63, are carried by pipes 64: fitted to the plate 49. aLeading in wardlyfrom the'pipe's 64 are pipes 65- which have an,upturned portion 66 .adjacenttheir inner ends, and are each providedwith a downturned nipple 67 at their ends, positioned directly over theupper ,ends of theguide rods 52 Referring particularly to Figures 3, 7 9and 10, it will be noted that the upper ends of the guide rods.52 aredished as indicated by numeral 468, and that a short passage 69leadsdownwardly therefrom and communicates with a lateral p assage 70 whichopens through the side ofthe rod." Thus when it is desiredto lubricatethe bearings 51 for the guide rods;52,; it is only necessary to open thepet cocksi63whereupon atmos pheric pressure will cause theoil in thecups62 to be ejected through thenipples 67 downwardly upon the upper dishedends of the guide rods 52, whereupon the oil will oass through thevertical passages 69 "and lat eral passages 70 to, lubricate thebearings 51. The surplus oil willreach theplate 53 which is dished, asindicated by numeral 71 on'Figures2,*3 and 9-. A-verticaljpassage 72leads downwardly from the dished portion of the plate to carry the oilto the bearing for the,

roller 611;:It is thus apparentthat this vacuum lubricating systemconstitutes avery simple means for lubricating the moving parts of thesealer operatingunit, without the necessity ofopening the vacuum tank;

apparatus, I shall now proceedlwith a description of the drivingunit,-which operates the apparatus either continuously or inter- 1mittently, and whichjis preferably mounted on thewframe of the machine,sojthat the whole deviceconstitutesone completeunitary structure. In thedescription of the drive unit, reference is tobe had particularly toFigures. 1, 2,13, 14, 15 and 16. 7

Having described the various units of-the Numeral 7 3 indicates a motorwhich is 1 preferably mounted on the base plate 74;and whichdrives apinion 75-meshing with a gear I '7 6 fixed to a shaft 7 7 .operatingan'air pump 78. This'pump communicates with the interior of'the vacuum tank2 .by means of a pipe 79. The air pump is driven continuously by themotor 73, and consequently a vacu= um is continuously maintained in thetank 2. The shaft 77 also carries a sprocket or pulley 80,which by meansof a-sprocket chain 1 or belt 81 drives a sprocket or pulley 82. Thissprocket or pulley'82, through a speed reduction gearing indicatedgenerally by numeral 83, and mounted; on a bracket 83., V drives a gear84 lo-oselymounted on the main shaft 85 which operates'various elementsin a manner to be hereinafter described,

In order to operatively connect the gear 84 with the shaft 85,1 provideaclutch member 86 which is keyed or otherwise fixed to the shaft. Theclutch member has an appropriate opening 87 in which is slidably Ymounted abolt 88.; Extending laterally from and is normally urgedupwardly against the 7 lower side of the clutch member 86 by avertically sliding finger 96 arranged in a socket .97 above a coilspring 98. The trigger 93 is provided with an inclined cam face 99 onone" side, and this merges into an abruptly curved shoulder 100 whichconstitutes a pock- "et to receive the pin 89.

It has been seen that the trigger 93 is normally pressed upwardlyagainst the under side of the clutch member 86. That is the position ofthe trigger when the mechanism is at rest; but when it is desired tocommence a sealing operation this trigger must be moved downwardly torelease the pin 89 and roller 90. To thus operate the trigger, 1preferably provide a pedal 101 to which is attached a link 102 extendingupwardly and attached at its upper end to the trigger 93.

T0 start the sealing operation it is only necessary to depress the pedal101 so that the trigger will be lowered, against the pressure of thespring 98, until the trigger frees the pin 89 and roller 90, whereuponthe spring 91 will force the bolt 88 forward into engagement with one ofthe sockets 92 provided in the gear wheel 84. The clutch is thus thrownin, and the shaft 85 begins its rotation. In the case of intermittentoperation, the pedal 101 is at once released, and the spring 98 forcesthe trigger upwardly against the underside of the clutch member 86. Theshaft 85 continues to rotate, and during a sealing operations to beperformed; that is, the machine passes through a'complete cycle ofoperations during a complete rotation of the shaft 85. As this shaftnears the end ofa complete rotation the roller 90 will be engaged by thecam face 99 of the trigger 93, whereby the sliding bolt 88 will be movedbackwardly against the pressure of spring 91, until by the time theroller 90 reaches the curved shoulder or pocket 100, the shaft 85 hascompleted its single rotation, the bolt has been entirely withdrawn, andthe shaft comes to rest; the parts remainingin this position until thepedal 101 is again'depressed. If the machine is to be operatedcontinuously instead of intermittently, it is only necessary to maintainthe trigger 93 out of the path of the roller 90, as illustrated inFigure 13. In order to maintain the trigger out of the path of roller 90the pedal 101 must be retained in its depressed position, and Iaccomplish this by any preferred 'form of latch, such for instance, asindicated generally on Figure 1 by numeral 103. It will be understoodthat when the pedal single rotation it causes all of the 101 isdepressed and the latch 103 projected across it, the machine willcontinue to operate until the latch is withdrawn, thereby permitting thepedal to rise, and permitting the trigger to move upwardly into the pathof the roller 90. I j

To overcome the inertia of the moving parts and thus assist in stoppingthe ma chine, I provide an adjustable friction brake 10 1.

As stated hereinbefore the shaft 85 carries'the cams for operating thevarious units of the device; and these cams and the associated partswill now be described.

A cam 105 is mounted on the shaft 85 outside of the vacuum tank, and isadapted to operate, in sequence, the vacuum release or air valve 23 andthe door 9; reference being had particularly to Figures 1, 2, 7 and 13.Mounted on a wall of the vacuum tank isa rocker arm 106, provided with aroller 107 which is adapted to be engaged by the cam 105. When the cam105 moves the rocker arm 106 upwardly, the link 25 causes the vacuumrelease or air valve 23 to be unseated; whereby the vacuum in thesealing chamber is broken the admission of air through the ports 22. InFigure 1 I have illustrated the rocker arm 106 engaged by the cam 105,so that the air valve is in open position. When the cam releases the arm106, the air valve 23 is instantly seated by-means of the spring 2 1;the position of the rocker arm, when released from the cam, beingillustrated in Figure 18.

Mounted on a. bracket extending from a wall of the vacuum tank is asecond rocker arm 108, provided with a roller109 whichis adapted tobeengaged by the cam. 105 immediately after the cam has engaged thefirst-mentioned rocker arm 106. The rocker arm 108 also carries anotherroller 110 engaging the lower face .of' the slide rod 17. When the cam105 moves the rocker arm 108 upwardly the slide rod- 17 is lifted, andthrough the link connection 16' with the tie rod 15 carried by thedoorarms 11, the door 9 is moved to open position. Figure 1 clearlyillustrates the position of the various parts when the rocker arm 108has been moved upwardly by the cam. When the cam releases the rocker arm108 the door falls by gravity into its sealing position; the parts whenin this position being illustrated in Figure 13. A coil spring 111,,having its lower end attached to the rocker arm and its upper endattached to an adjustable rod 112,

maintains the roller 110 of, the rocker arm 108 in contact with thelower face of the slide rod 17.

The shaft 85 passes on through the walls.

of the vacuum tank; being suitably ournaled therein, as clearly shown inFigure 2.. Of

course, the bearings for. the shaft in the'walls of the vacuum tank areairtight; and 'a suittwo lobes indicated by numerals 114 and 115.

the roller 61 carried by the plate 53; Thedes sign of this cam is bestillustrated in Figure 3, and it will be noted that it is provided. withThe first lobe functions to give the sealing plate 32 its preliminaryupward movement, to carry the receptacle to be sealed into closerelation with the sealing head3; and the second lobe, 115, forces thereceptacle against the sealing head, thereby performing the sealingoperation. The 1 receptacle to be sealed is indicated bynumeral 116.

All ofthe foregoing description relates to a machine for sealing onereceptacleiata time,'but it will be understood that by slight changesthe machine may be employed-for simultaneously sealing a plurality of receptacles; and in Figures 17, 18 and 19 I have illustrated the few minorchanges that are desirable to convert the machine into a double sealer.By reference to those figures it will be noted that the sealing plate 32has been removed from the disc members 31 forming part of the sealingplungers 30; and the articles to be sealed are placed directly on thedisc members. i r

In the use of thedevice as a double sealer it" is also necessary toemploy a different guide for positioning the articles to be sealed.

For thisxpurpose a threaded rod 117 is mounted in: the rear wall of thesealing chamher, and secured to its inner end, as by a set screw 118, isthe double guide member 119,

having two; sets of converging guide plates 120, by means of which thetwo receptacles are'positioned on the discs 31. g

In the use of the device asadouble sealer I also preferably employ asealing head of different shape than that employed in the single sealer.The sealing head is indlcated by numeral 121, and is shaped tosubstantially follow the contour of the wall of the sealing chamber. Thesealing head is atta-ched to the rod 5 by any suitable means, preferablyby means of a screw 122, threaded into the end of the rod. V

A complete cycle of operation of the machine will now be described,assuming that it is to be operated in intermittent fashion.

The motor 7 3 iscontinuously driving the air pump 7 8 therebymaintaining a vacuum in the tank 2, ready for instant use. The motor 73is also constantly rotating the gear 84:, so that to start operations itis only necessary to depress the pedal 101. The attendant places in thesealing chamber the re.- ceptacle to be sealed,-with the cap looselymounted thereon the receptacle being guided into proper position by theguides 35, or by the guides 120 if the machine is being op.- erated as adouble sealer. Theoperator now sealing chamber. .in their lowermostposition the valves or coldepressesthe pedal 101, whereby the trigger r93 releases the roller 90, and thebolt 88 is.

moved forwardly by the spring91,'intoone of the sockets 92in the gearwheel, thereby. clutching; a the continuously rotating gear, wheel withthe shaft 85. The shaft thusbe gins to rotate,-gand theoperator releasesthe pedal 101, sorthat the trigger .93 will move upwardly to assume itsposition in the path; of the roller :90, whereby the clutch will bethrown out at the end of a complete rotation of. the. shaft, in themanner hereinbefore described.

As the shaft begins its rotationthelobe of cam 105 will ride from underthe rocker arm 108, thereby permitting the door to close by gravity.Thefurther rotation of the shaft '85 brings the lobe 114 of cam1113 intoengage;

mentwiththe roller 61 of the plate 53, there-f i by givingthe sealingplungers 30 their pre; liminary upward movement to bring the receptaclesto be sealed into close relation with the sealing heads,so that the capswillnot be displaced when a vacuum is created in the When the plungers30 are lars 45 are seated on the flange 44, and hence thereisnocommunication between the sealing chamber and thevacuum tank; But theinstant the plungers commence their preliminary. upward movement thevalves are unseated, thereby providing a slight communication, or whatmay be termed a leakage, between the sealing chamber and'lthe vacuumtank. However assoon as the collar .45

passes out of the sleeve 42, the vacuum has its full elfect on'thesealing chamber.

Further rotation-ofthesh-aft 85 brings lobe i 115 of cam 113 intoengagement with roller cation between the sealing "chamber and the.vacuum tank; At this point in the operation 7 v the cam 105 comesintoengagem-ent with the rock-er'arm 106,wher-eby the valve 23 is liftedto break the-vacuuminthe sealing chamber.

Further rotation of the shaft 85 will bring cam 105 into engagement withthe rocker arm 108, whereby the door 9 will be openedfa'nd thesealedarticle is ready to be removed; Theacomplete cycle of operationhas .been performed, andthe clutch bolt 88 is withdrawn bythe'engagementof roller 90 with" the inclinedface 9 9. of the'trigger 93,so

thatthe shaft .85 comes to rest at the en-d of a complete revolution,'.withthe roller 90 in the pocket 100 of the trigger 93,.Anotherreceptacle is positioned thesealing chamber, the pedal 101 isagain depressed, and

the operation is repeated. I

If the machine is employed for simultaneously sealing a plurality ofreceptacles the operation remains identically the same as describedabove, and to adapt the machine to the simultaneous sealing of aplurality of re ceptacles, it is only necessary to change a few of theaccessories, such as guides, sealing heads, etc.

The foregoing description relates to the of an intermittent one, so thatas soon as one in the walls of the vacuum tank, and a cam- '40 cycleofoperation is completed the next cycle will begin.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art, that the invention includes numerous novel and desirablefeatures, which make the machine both economical and efiicient inoperation.

It will also be apparent that the machine is subject to numerous changesand modifi cations, all of which I aim to include within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What I claim is 1 '1. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, asealing plunger, a pedestal supporting the sealing chamber, saidpedestal constituting a vacuum tank, a shaft journaled carried by saidshaft and adapted to operate said sealing plunger.

2. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a sealing plunger, apedestal supporting the sealing chamber, said pedestal constituting avacuum tank, a shaft journaled in the walls of the vacuum tank, andmeans operated by said shaft for giving the sealing plunger apreliminary upward movement and ,7 a final upward movement.

3. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a vacuum tankassociated therewith, a stationary sealing head, a reciprocable sealingplunger, and means carried by 4 the sealing plunger for shutting offcommunlcation between the sealing chamber and vacuumtank when theplunger is in its lowermost position. 7 I

4. .In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a vacuum tankassociated therethe vacuum tank as thesealing plunger bewith, astationary sealing head, a reciprocable sealing plunger, and meanscontrolled by the sealing plunger to open a slight communication betweenthe sealing chamber and gins its upward stroke.

' 5. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a vacuum tankassociated therewith, a sealing head, a reciprocable sealing plunger,and means controlled by the sealing plunger to vary the extentof'communication -between the sealing chamber and the vacuumtank duringthe upward movement of the sealing plunger; I,

6. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a vacuum tankassociated therewith, a sealing head, a reciprocable sealing plunger,and means controlled by thesealing plunger to open a slightcommunication between the sealing chamber and the vacuum tank as thesealing plunger begins its upward stroke and increasing the extent ofcommunication upon further upward movement of said sealing plunger.

7. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a vacuum tankassociated there with, a plunger movable in the sealing chamber, andmeans operated by said plunger for shutting 0d communication between thesealing chamber and vacuum' tank when the plunger is in inoperativeposition and opening communication as the plunger leaves its inoperativeposition.

8. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a stationary sealinghead, a reciprocable sealing plunger, a pedestal supporting the sealingchamber,'said pedestal constituting a vacuum tank, a sleeve surroundingsaid sealing plunger, and a collar carried by the sealing plungerand'movable into the sleeve to control communication between the sealingchamber and the vacuum tank.

9. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a stationary sealinghead, a reciprocable sealing plunger, a pedestal supporting the sealingchamber, said pedestal con-' stitutinga vacuum tank, a sleevesurrounding'said sealing plunger, an internal flange provided on saidsleeve, and a collar carried by the sealing plunger and adapted to seaton said flange to shut ofi communication between the sealing chamber andthe vacuum tank.

10. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a sealing plunger, avacuum tank associated with the sealing chamber, a reciprocable rod foroperating said plunger, a member carrying said rod, a guide rod alsocarried by said member, said guide rod hav- Ving'a passage leading fromthe upper end of the rod to its bearing, and a vacuum oiling system forfeeding oil to the upper end of said rod.

11. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a sealing plunger, avacuum tank associated with the sealing chamber, a

reciprocable rod for operating said plunger, 7

a member carrying said rod, a guide rod also carried by said member, aroller carried by said member, a cam adapted to engage said roller forelevating said sealing plunger, and

a vacuum oiling system for feeding oil to said guide rod and from saidguide rod to said roller. a

12. In a vacuum sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a door therefor, avacuum-release valve associated with said sealing chamber, a rotatableshaft, and a single cam carried by saidshaft for opening the door andthe vacuum release valve.

13. In a vacuum stationary sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a doortherefor, a

vacuum tank directly associated with the sealing chamber, a valveregulatmg the de-.

gree of vacuum in the vacuum tank, a vacuum release valve for thesealing chamber, a sealing plunger, a rotatable shaft, and cams carriedby said shaft for operating the door, the vacuum release valve and thesealing plunger.

14. In a vacuum stationary sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a doortherefor, a vacuum tank directly associated with the sealing chamber, avalve regulating the degree of vacuum in the vacuum tank, a vacuumrelease valve for the sealing chambery a sealing plunger, a rotatableshaft, and means controlled by said shaft Within the vacuum tank foroperating the sealing plunger.

15. In a vacuum stationary sealing machine, a sealing chamber, a doortherefor, a vacuum tank directly associated with the sealing chamber, avalve regulating-the degree of vacuum in the vacuum tank, a vaeuumrelease valve for the sealing chamber,

a sealing plunger, a rotatable shaft, cams carried by said shaft foroperating the door, the vacuum release valve and the sealing plunger,means for driving said shaft, a clutch for connecting said drivingmeansand the shaft, and means for automatically throwing out said clutch whenthe shaft has made a complete revolution.

17. In a vacuum stationary sealing ma chine, a sealing chamber, a doortherefor,

a vacuum tank directly associated with the sea-ling chamber, a valveregulating the degree of vacuum in the vacuum tank,-a .vac-

uum release valve for the sealing chamber, a

sealing plunger, a rotatable shaft, cams carried by said shaft foroperating the door, the

vacuum release valve and the sealing plunger, and meanswhereby saidshaft may be rotated continuously or intermittently.

18. Ina vacuum stationary sealing, ma-

chine, a sealing'chamber a door therefor a vacuum tank directlyassociated with the sealing chamber, aivalveregulating the def gree ofvacuum in the vacuum tank, a vacuum release valve for the sealingchamber, a sealingplunger, a rotatable shaft, cams carried by said shaftfor operating the door, the vacuum release valve and the sealingplunger, means for driving said shaft, a clutch for connecting saiddriving meansand the shaft, means for disengaging said clutch at the endof a complete revolution of said shaft, and means for rendering saidreleasing means inoperative, whereby the shaft may rotate continuously.a

* JOHN'J. WILLIAMS;

